Managerial witchcraft: balancing organizational needs, seekership, and stigma in the cultic

One recurring factor in the study of cultic organizations is that they tend to be short-lived. Based on observational and interview work with a Wiccan coven, Blackian conflict management theories were used to analyze organizational factors which may contribute to the longevity of organizations within Campbells cultic milieu. Significant conflict management strategies identified were: efforts to maintain the privacy of group members, a general tolerance towards within-group ideological diversity, moderate levels of intimacy and involvement between group members, and a clearly explained but relatively flat hierarchy. This study contributes to the sociological literature on organizational processes within the cultic milieu and lays a foundation for more in depth studies of conflict management within cultic organizations in the future.